An educational film 'From Drugs to Mugs' was released as a follow-up the 2004 Faces of Meth project which highlighted the effects of methamphetamine use. The photos show dramatic transformations of beautiful youth into living dead zombies. I posted a story last year so I thought I'd follow up about my disagreement with this film's propaganda. (See Before & After Faces of Crystal Meth). Deputies who compiled these photos for the film are now claiming these are of all kinds of drug users in order to step up propaganda against pot use.
The fact is that neither pot nor cocaine produce these kind of dramatic effects on people's appearance in such short durations of time. There are millions of people from the 1960's, 70's and 80's in particular who have used pot and/or cocaine who have never become hard core drug users. Whatever these misguided law enforcement people are saying to politicize against the use of marijuana is based on distortions of information. The meth user's above photos are from 2001 and 2008. It took just seven years for a beautiful woman with model qualities to turn into a withered lifeless corpse. It was definitely meth. Many of us would like for law enforcement to step up their efforts against homemade meth labs instead of politicizing the use of pot as dangerous.
These photos are shocking and disturbing because we observe so many having obviously destroyed their lives and futures over the use of this extremely dangerous manmade drug meth.
It's so disheartening to read as I posted earlier, of insane judges issuing 10 year sentences for a first offenders sale of a dime bag of a natural herb based drug marijuana when it's clear meth is one of the biggest dangers. (See Woman Who Sold Dime Bag of Marijuana Given 10 Year Sentence. . .) While pot has proven to have medicinal qualities a natural herb can offer, we don't read much about what is being done about meth by the judicial system and law enforcement. Well, at least I don't. (The lady above transformation took 8 months in 2008 - facial scabs are a symptom of meth use)
Meth user's transformation took 3 years (2003 & 2006)
1997 & 2008
Called to Jury Duty Over Police Politicizing a few Pot Plants Grown in Home in San Francisco
The status quo legal establishment can't seem to end its fixation on marijuana that it goes to the extent of ignoring posted certificates denoting doctor's approval of the growing of the herb in order to send a case to an expensive trial. I was called on one of those trials last year for jury duty in San Francisco in which 400 people spent their day to learn there would be a 3 month trial of part-time days over what turned out to be police officers' lies. The SFPD officers were obviously desperate for overtime that dozens of them worked on a case. The jury found that a police officer who raided the home had clearly disregarded a medical certificate allowing the plants being grown on the property. The defendant was a former decorated Viet Nam Vet and police officer, go figure.
As I've stated throughout this blog, the legal system is based on money, not justice. The cops wanted an easy case to obtain overtime and found it in a few pot plants being grown along with an unused rifle on the property.
The rest of the photos:
2003 & 2007
May 2000 and November 2000
2000 & 2007
1997 & 2007
2005 & 2008 - This guy has no scabs so this may not be meth.
Deputy Bret King, 45, who put together these photos for the film is using them for propaganda. Deputy King's saying these photos depict all kinds of drug users who had begun using pot. Deputy King is promoting the idea that all of these people began using pot and cocaine who ultimately became hard core drug addicts. This is a fallacy since millions of people who have used those drugs at some time in their lives, including former Presidents Clinton and G.W. Bush, aren't drug addicts.
My main concern is this kind of police propaganda causes first time 25 year old offenders to obtain 10 year prison sentences by misguided judges. Does it make any sense to destroy someone's life and future, worse than any herbal drug could ever do, by over politicizing such a thing? (See Woman Who Sold Dime Bag of Marijuana Given 10 Year Sentence Had No Prior Convictions).
Pharmaceutical companies create children with addictive brains early in life by dispensing powerful mind altering dangerous drugs like Ritalin at a young age. Yet we don't hear Deputy King talking about the legal ways they're turning children into drug addicts early in life now do we? Or how the CIA is trafficking in drugs since the Viet Nam war or how the war in Afghanistan is also about opium?
My main concern is how cops use this propaganda instead of doing their jobs properly. Try going for the meth labs, not the dime bag first time pot offenders you set up assholes!